In the early hours of 16th August 1942 the crew of this 460 Squadron aircraft were tasked with flying an operational flight to Dusseldorf. The aircraft left Breighton at 00.03hrs but the crew could not properly identify the target area due to broken cloud and ground haze. They dropped their bomb load from 14,000 feet at 02.20hrs on existing fires. The aircraft was then attacked by an enemy aircraft as they made for home in the region of twenty miles north west of Dusseldorf. The enemy aircraft, believed to have been a Junkers Ju88, opened fire from two hundred yards and from below the Wellington. The bomber was hit on the port side of the fuselage injuring the wireless operator who was stood in the astro hatch and the bomb bay was also struck. The pilot put the aircraft into a dive to escape the attack and the rear gunner managed to get a six second burst of return fire towards the enemy aircraft. Strikes were seen in the enemy aircrfat wing roots and front fuselage, it climbed briefly before stalling and diving on fire and was later claimed as destroyed. The Wellington sustained serious damage to the fabric and geodetics in the attack, some of the bullets had entered the Wellington in the bomb bay and gone through the aircraft into the front turret taking out wiring and the hydraulics to the bomb bay doors and undercarriage. The damaged aircraft was landed at Breighton at 05.16hrs in a poor condition. The pilot received an immediate award of the DFM for bringing the damaged aircraft back to base.
Pilot - F/Sgt Edward Keith Forbes Brasher RAAF (404949), of Windsor, Queensland, Australia.
? - Sgt Douglas Westbury Johnson RAAF (403139), of West Maitland, New South Wales, Australia.
? - Sgt Allister Dalton Crowther RAAF (411007), of Wyong, New South Wales, Australia.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt James Lowrie Forrest RAAF (401688), of Mildura, Victoria, Australia. Injured in thigh.
Rear Gunner - Sgt Keith Campbell Bennett RAAF (407992), of Malvern, South Australia.
Wellington Z1464 was built to contract B.97887/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Hawarden, Chester and was delivered to 44 MU on 25th January 1942. It moved to 12 MU at Kirkbride on 28th January 1942 and after a period of storage it was taken on charge by 460 Squadron at Breighton on 10th June 1942 as a replacement for Z1249 UV-K, lost on 3rd June 1942. As a result of the damage sustained on 16th August 1942 Cat.A(c)/FB was the damaged assessment and it was repaired on site by a team from Fairfields. When the repair was complete it was returned to 460 Squadron on 10th June 1942 and was then transferred to 301 Squadron at Hemswell on 18th February 1943 and remained with them until the unit ceased operating the type. In May 1943 it was transferred 33 MU and was then taken on charge by 104 (T)O.T.U. at Nutts Corner on 29th August 1943. In January 1944 it failed an inspection so was sent to the works factory at Sywell for repair but soon after arrival on 20th January 1944 it was Re-Cat.E and on 8th March 1944 it was struck off charge.
On 14th September 1942 the wireless operator was presumably still recovering from his injuries sustained in the above incident. On this date the other members of his crew listed above were flying Wellington Z1385 when it failed to return following Ops to Bremen and crashed near the target area. This was the last 460 Squadron Wellington to be lost prior to their conversion to Lancasters.
Edward Brasher (picture above in a damaged photograph) was born on 9th October 1916 in Brisbane and enlisted on 5th January 1941 in Brisbane. He gained his Wings on 26th August 1941 and on arrival in the UK he was posted to train at 27 OTU on 14th January 1942 before posting to 460 Squadron on 7th July 1942. He was posted to 460 Conversion Flight on 25th August 1942 but it must have been that he was still required to fly Ops with his parent unit while this Lancaster conversion training was being done as he was killed while flying with his parent unit flying Wellingtons. F/Sgt Brasher was twenty five years old and was initially buried in the old Russian cemetery at Vechta. The post-war grave investigation unit exhumed his body to positively identify it and he was later buried in Sage War Cemetery. His DFM was Gazetted on 11th September 1942 and presented to his mother in Brisbane in 1944. The citation reads.. "One night in August 1942, this airman captained an aircraft which attacked Dusseldorf. On the outward flight, when some 40 miles from the target, his aircraft was attacked by a hostile aircraft and sustained damage to the tailplane. Despite this, Sergeant Brasher pressed on and bombed his objective. Shortly after leaving the target area, his aircraft was attacked by a Junkers Ju88. Further damage was sustained and the wireless operator was wounded. Sergeant Brasher, skilfully manoeuvring his aircraft, enabled his rear gunner to fire an effective burst at the attacker, which caused it to break away enveloped in flames. Sergeant Brasher flew his damaged aircraft safely to base. Throughout, he displayed great courage and determination to- complete his mission."
Sgt Johnson was also twenty five years old and is also buried in Sage War Cemetery. He was born on 21st August 1917 in Armidale, New South Wales and enlisted in Sydney.
Sgt Crowther was an old man at the age of thirty three, in aircrew terms, he too is buried at Sage War Cemetery. He was born on 15th May 1909 in Cobar, New South Wales and enlisted in Sydney.
F/Sgt Bennett was twenty two years old and he was buried in Rheinburg War Cemetery, Germany. He was born on 9th January 1920 in Adelaide ane enlisted there.
F/Sgt Forrest recovered from his injuries and returned to 460 Squadron after converting to flying in the Lancaster. He was sadly killed on 10th April 1943 on Ops to Duisburg in Lancaster ED521, he was twenty five years old and his body was either never found, identified or the original burial location is unknown. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. He was born on 4th December 1917 in Temora, New South Wales and enlisted in Melbourne on 28th March 1941 and was a farm labourer at the time.